Living in the Moment Again

 

In a world that everything is captured on video it is amazing to be present in a moment. I recently went to a Candlelight Fever Concert “Tribute to Beyonce”, and we had strict instructions that we could not video tape, record, or take photo of the orchestra. At first, I thought this is going to be hard because I want to post what an amazing time that myself and my friends are having. After knowing I could not have my phone out. It forced me to be present in the moment, in the environment of the candles, the dimly light lights, the vintage theater style seating with velvet seat covers. The smell of the old building, and the fact that the building was not ADA compliant lets you know how old the building was. Although we hear Beyonce songs on the radio daily. It was nothing like hearing them played by an orchestra, minus the words, just the heart of the instruments, the thousands of candles lit throughout the theater, and us. I honestly felt like I was the only one in the room. 

Then the lead violinist, on the last song, provided us permission to pull out our phones and capture the last song on video. The song they played was Beyonce’s 2011 Best thing I never had”. The song is about the singer being in a relationship and breaking up with her boyfriend and being happier for it. Although this song was instrumental. After being unable to have our phones out the entire show it made you focus more. It’s as if you can hear the words coming from the Violins and Chellos (minus the audience singing). I forgot I was recording. It was truly great to be back. Back in those moments where we live in moments, and not over share. Back in those moments when we shared nothing or very little with the public. Now a days, we don’t keep anything for ourselves. Everything must be shared and commented on. If you don’t, then it is taken personally. This experience felt good, it felt intimate, if felt almost like an escape. (351) Candlelight Fever Tampa A Tribute to Beyonce- Best thing I never Had - YouTube

            This week in our Leadership and Mass Media Strategies we looked at topics from why videos go viral, how to engineer a viral music video, dealing with personal attacks on social media, to How social media could ruin your business. What I know from these topics people typically go viral for fame, recognition, likes, (as the younger generation says now a days) clout, for fun, and even by accident. I knew nothing about how to engineer a virtual music video. Dealing with Personal attacks on social media, I know this typically happens when someone disagrees with you on social media. These personal attacks can turn dangerous. What is most important and sometimes hard to do is they should not be taken personally. I know that social media can ruin a business and having negative press. The little bit that I know about personal branding is that first you are your brand, you should spend at least an hour a day working on your brand/business. We also learned How to build and develop a personal brand. What I know is that you must start with passion and start with a dream/idea. Six ways Public Relation professionals can and should think like journalist. I always assumed most public relation professional had a journalist background. We also learned about how to leverage social media for public relation success. This topic I always thought I knew about but after this hefty read I learned it is much more than social media it is networking, research, and committing to learning about the company you aspire to work with. New idea would be for public relation professionals to leverage the exclusivity of not using social media. The most successful brands are not on social media. Certain business is not on social media, and they remain profitable and successful, these businesses include but are not limited to, Metro Health Network, Questcor Pharmaceuticals, IPG Photonics, Landauer, WEX, and Future Fuel. According to Todd Wasserman, “Facebook released some stats in early December that show the number of small businesses that use the social network has doubled since January.

However, only 13 million small businesses are on Facebook. There are about 29 million small businesses in the U.S. according to the U.S. Census. If you do the math, that means that only about 45 percent of small businesses are actually on Facebook.

Some industries tend to have more use for social media than others. According to the IAB, retail is the biggest adopter of social media, followed by telecom and financial services. Under-indexers include heavy industry. Why? "The simple truth is there often just enough people out there excited about your industry that want to spend their free time talking about it and sharing photos," declared the Internet Marketing Blog. Fittingly, the list below is comprised of companies whose customers aren't flocking to social media. Or at least that's their perception.

Nevertheless, they are all doing well. The six below made Forbes's list of the top small businesses in America. However, none of them are on Facebook or Twitter, at least in an official capacity. While they're in the minority on the list, they illustrate the social media isn't necessarily required for success, even in 2012.” (Wasserman, 2012)

New Ideas, why viral goes viral, a new idea would be to use the platform to push greater narratives. If we could do this instead of wanting to go viral to be instaFamous then I believe we would see more quality in viral videos. How to engineer a viral video is something that takes education and skill. I really enjoyed those videos and the connections each person brough to the video on and off the screen. If you have not had an opportunity to check out Adam Sadowsky: How to engineer a viral music video | TED Talk. I highly recommend it, the effort, time and commitment he put in to not just creating the video but finding the singers who had to upload viral videos to audition. If we put as much effort and commitment that Adam Sadowsky put in to locating and creating those amazing pieces of music. Then I believe our viral video’s will have more substance to them and start making the world better. As I enter the communication world I can only hope to keep as much passion and commitment as Adam Sadowsky and those thousands of singers who play a huge role in creating those viral videos. Then maybe one day we can start enjoying each other again. Then start being present in moments again.

Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5RH2jgyWzs

Wasserman, T. (2012, December 28). Business Class. Retrieved from Business: https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/10-very-successful-small-businesses-that-dont-use-social-media/#:~:text=6%20Very%20Successful%20Small%20Businesses%20That%20Don%27t%20Use,IPG%20Photonics%20...%204%20Landauer%20..